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Monday, January 28, 2013

A chance to see if you "get" it.

I have decided to give readers of this blog a look at something "in progress". So, be aware that this is the raw, unedited version of this story. In Dead: Confrontation, I am introducing a "new" character in the Vignettes section.

I am curious what sort of impact this story will have. You see, I have an idea in mind going in to this. I am hoping that the readers will pick up on it. So any observations that you may come up with as you read this are welcome in the comments section below. (And yes, I still have editing to do, so if words are wonky or repetitious, that will be fixed during edits.) I just want to see if my mission is accomplished in this section.

Without further delay...this is the second vignette in this story line.

Emily-zombie stepped outside. The others were on the move as the newest
sound rumbled through their deadened senses. None of them knew why, she no more
or less than the others. Yet, sound sent a signal that drew her like a moth to
the flame.

However, before she had taken the third step, she had forgotten why. Her
drive now came from no greater stimulus than she was already in motion along
with those around her. If that split second could be broken down, it would be
that sound indicated something possessing the craved heat was close.

As Emily-zombie trudged along with the others, a tingle bloomed in that
tiniest part of her mind that made her different from the others. That sound
might mean something besides heat. It might mean…

The idea of death meant nothing. The emotion known as fear had no place
in her to gain purchase because it could not be sustained. Yet, enough of that
kernel of fear sent a signal to Emily-zombie.

Danger!

Once again, the word had no meaning, but Emily slowed down and let many
of the others get past her. Something brushed her foot. It gave off no warmth.
Looking down, it was the other…the one that made Emily’s steps bolder just
because of its presence.

Mother?

Meaningless. Yet Emily-zombie slowed even more to match the pace of this
one that pulled itself along on the ground. When one of the group stepped on
her, Emily-zombie hissed and moved over it to shield it. Those around took no
notice, but they went around the pair.

It was not long before another image bloomed. Moving was easier if the
others cleared the way. The cold meant nothing. But walking through…snow!...was easier if a path existed for
them to follow.

All of these images and words held their meaning for about as long as the
flame created by a wandering magician that opens his wallet and ignites the
flashpowder creating a momentary fireball that is gone in the span of a single
heartbeat. Yet they were enough to alter Emily’s reactions. Those moments gave
her the appearance of thought. Like the magician’s flaming wallet, it was no
more than an illusion. Still, that was enough to make her different.

The pitiful creature at her feet that pulled itself along felt no
gratitude. And if Emily were to wander off, neither would remember their time
together as they travelled with this mob any more than Emily-zombie remembered
that it was her banging on a car that had brought this particular herd
together.

Emily-zombie walked. Never all the way in the rear of the group, never in
front. There was something that kept her as close to the center as she able to
be. And when a new sound came, the entire group oriented on it and moved. They
became slower as those in front had to push against the wall of white.

At one point, the mob increased its speed as they poured out into an area
where the snow had been trampled down. And now there was a steady source of
sound leading them on. Every once in a while, Emily was able to see a flash of
warmth up ahead.

Now that the actual warmth was spotted, she began to move through any
crease or opening in the mob to get just a bit closer. That warmth overwhelmed
many of her other signals. She had to have it. It was hers.

Now there were sounds coming from many directions. At some point that one
source of warmth vanished. Emily-zombie slipped back into simply trying to
follow the sounds. She had no ability to determine that she actually doubled
back on her path a half dozen times. She simply followed sound.

Twice her group passed a figure on the ground. It was not one of them,
but it did not possess any heat, and therefore, it went ignored.

Her mob had broken into several smaller groups as some turned away, drawn
by sounds from a different direction. There were passages through the whiteness
that allowed them to move easier…with more freedom.

Turning a corner in pursuit of the most recent noise, her group
discovered three sources of warmth clustered together. Emily-zombie stopped,
allowing the others to close in. The screams meant nothing. One of the sources
separated from the others and came at Emily-zombie.

She stepped behind one of her own as a loud noise reverberated off the
walls of the snow passage. She craved that warmth, but a signal had built and
actually lingered.

Danger!

Her group fell on those three sources of warmth. Still Emily-zombie
waited. Something made her hesitate. As the others tore open those sources,
spilling more warmth out onto the…snow!...she
moved in and joined.

One source seemed to stand out from the others. It almost seemed to try
and offer itself to Emily-zombie. She knelt and plunged her hands inside,
pulling as much of that warmth to her mouth as she could.

At no point did the sounds spewing from this source hold any meaning. She
continued to feed despite the pleas.

About Me

TW Brown is the author of the Zomblog series, DEAD series, and That Ghoul Ava series. He is deeply immersed in
pursuing his dream of being a “full-time” writer while trying to balance the
duties of husband, father, friend, and Border Collie owner. He keeps busy
reading and editing the numerous submissions for a variety of upcoming
anthologies and full-length titles for May December Publications. He has had short stories published by Pill
Hill Press, Living Dead Press, and others.